After the Boom
by PixieEnderborne
Summary: Rythian,torn apart from losing Zoey in the explosion, travels to the Nether to escape life. As he is about to hurl himself into lava, he hears the cry of a little girl with some familiar features. What adventures do the two go on? What happens when the girl finds out about Rythian's tragic past?
1. Chapter 1: Did you hear that boom?

_Did you hear that boom?_

At the Crooked Caber, the mute dinosaur Teep and bartender Ravs were playing Levers, though their hearts were not into it as they waited nervously for Zoey. Rythian sat in a dark corner, fingers in a vice grip on his mug, drink untouched.

"Rythian." Said Ravs kindly, though his expression was alarmed at Rythian's grave face. "Do you want to come join us? I'm sure Zoey knows what she's—"

A deafening explosion. The windows on the outside glowed white, though the explosion didn't reach them. A small cry escaped from Rythian's lips. He couldn't think. He had meant to fly over to the disaster, but ended up teleporting over there instead.

He didn't have his void ring on him.

He stood trembling on the top of the hills. He dared not go closer to the radiation. It was enough to see the red haired body sprawled across the ground. Somehow she had not been torn apart by the explosion, he could tell. Tears flowed down his cheeks, slightly stinging. She was dead. Gone. The only girl he ever loved. The fight left his body. He no longer wanted revenge. He didn't even want to live.

_Goodbye, Zoey._ He thought, his heart falling to pieces inside of him. _I miss you already. I NEED you._ "I love you." He said the last part out loud, hardly a whisper. He felt as though, out of respect, he should say goodbye to Tee. Yet he couldn't bring himself to move, let alone speak. He no longer wanted to be human, without her.

"Yes, the silly girl is gone. You should have joined us sooner." They said inside his head, ready to finally possess him. His ender side, ready to emerge. He closed his eyes and began to let it take over to him.

Wait! What was he doing?! He couldn't make himself become that, reason to live or not. He had to get as far away from the End as possible. He shut it back inside himself as best he could and dove through his portal to the Nether.

Much better. He could think here, he wasn't sure if that was a good thing. He looked down at the lava, deliberating. Maybe it would be wise to just end it here, where he couldn't hurt anyone again. And no one could hurt him.

Nodding to himself, he jumped gracefully down and headed to the lava with no fear, just misery. Maybe, if there was something beyond after all, he could see Zoey again…

He heard a bloodcurdling scream from nearby, sounding like it belonged to a small girl. He was so alarmed his flying ring halted him, right above the lava. Now wasn't the time to grieve. Maybe he can do one last thing redeeming before he is reunited with the mushroom girl.

**More to come! This is my second fanfiction. Any advice on how I can improve is appreciated!**


	2. Chapter 2: Mr Hero

Rythian found the source easily, though he did not expect this girl.

She looked exactly like Zoey, but much younger. The same red hair, the same shaped lips; hell, her eyes were that same shimmering blue he adored so much. Who _was_ this girl? The dark mage was in so much pained fascination he almost forgot why he came.

The petite girl had somehow found her way to a nether fortress and gotten herself surrounded by blazes with nothing but a small dagger. Rythian couldn't stand by and watch a girl who so resembled his love be killed. Gripping his katar, he made quick work of them and lifted the quietly weeping girl to safety.

He put her down and took a step back, arms at his sides and one eyebrow raised curiously. The redheaded girl continued to cry, then stopped a moment, face pink, to look at Rythian. She ran up to him and hugged his waist tightly, still shaking. Rythian froze, then patted her on the back awkwardly.

She stood back then, looking down on the ground before saying a surprisingly steady "Thank you." in a high voice, her accent so similar to _hers._

Were it during a time when he could muster any happiness, Rythian would have smiled and said it was no problem. As it was, he simply inclined his had and said bluntly, "Who are you? How old are you? Why are you here?"

By her expression, she seemed to have expected as much of a response. "My name is Brooke, sir. I'm thirteen years old. As for the reason I'm here...well, I've been searching for somebody for a while now and this was my last hope. But i guess they're not here." her voice hinted she refused to say who.

Rythian looked at her suspiciously. "Aren't you a little...little for thirteen?" he asked dryly

Brooke's eyes narrowed, her arms crossed in the exact same pose as Rythian. "Maybe I am. But that doesn't mean I can't be strong. Anyone can be strong if they allow themselves to be." she said proudly, putting the dagger in her belt. "By the way, Mr. Hero, you never told me your name."

Rythian's lip twitched under his mask, yet he still couldn't smile. "Rythian. Tell me Brooke, don't you have anywhere to go?"

Brooke lowered her gaze to the ground and said quietly, "No. Not anymore." For the first time he noticed how worn her clothes were, her hair messy.

The mage, wondering what possessed him to want to destroy his insides so thoroughly, held out his hand to her. "Neither do I, but I was wondering if there was any possible way to convince you to help me build a mage tower?"

Brooke looked up and grinned at him, eyes swimming with gratitude. "Well, I'm not supposed to go places with strange men, but I'll make an exception for you, Mr. Hero" she teased and took his hand.

Somehow, Rythian couldn't help but smile a little. This child could never, in a million years, replace his Zoey. But he couldn't help but feel it was important to save her. Like there was a connection between her and Zoey.

"So am I like you apprentice now?" asked Brooke as they walked, searching for a portal.

Rythian almost fell over from the sudden pain in his chest, and smiled sadly at her, tears in his eyes she couldn't understand.

"I'll have to think about it. That title belongs to another girl, you see.."


	3. Chapter 3: A New Beginning

Rythian and Brooke walked along the warm ground, passing stiffly past a few pigmen. "Oh, I found a portal." Rythian called to his new small friend, gesturing to the north. She peered at it and shook her head.

"No, not that one." Brooke said "I marked the one I came through; I have to get some supplies from my…old home." She looked westward and spotted her landmark. "Aha! See that wooden pole? That's my portal. Hurry up!" she called, excited to start making a new home.

Rythian shook his head slightly but quickened his pace as well, and soon they were stepping through the throbbing purple portal.

It was sunup. They took a moment to enjoy the sensation of a cool breeze after being in the stuffy, still air of the Nether, watching creatures of the night burn up. Brooke scratched her head awkwardly. "Umm, you just stay here, I'll be right back. I just have to get some stuff from the village."

Rythian was still suspicious of this short little demon he knew hardly a thing about. "What? We're not stealing, are we?" he asked her.

Brooke smiled and said sincerely "Of course not. But I don't want to be seen, and they tend to notice strangers from a mile away." She began to waltz off to the north, where a few houses were visible.

Rythian relaxed a little and called "One day you'll have to tell me about wherever you come from!" to her

She turned around and smiled slyly "I will after you tell me about your past, Rythian." Laughing, she jogged out of Rythian's line of sight.

He shook his head. He didn't plan at first to tell her about himself all. But now…he wasn't sure. He looked at the piece of brick he got from the Nether Fortress. I guess now he'd get to make the mage tower he had always envisioned. He knew that he must somehow find a way to live on without Zoey.

For the first time since the explosion, he checked his alchemical bag to see what he had brought with him. He had a stack of diamonds, some dark matter, red matter, and other things. At the very bottom was a picture he had long forgotten about.

It was a picture of Rythian, eyes crinkled in a smile behind his mask, Zoey in all her beauty, and Teep, bow in one scaly hand. They all had their arms around each other standing in front of Baby Jim. Nilesy, who was taking the picture, was making Zoey laugh so hard she couldn't stop for the picture, her mouth open midlaugh in a smile. His vision blurred and he slipped the picture carefully into his pocket.

Brooke was drawing closer, a backpack bouncing on her back as she ran. "Okay, it's not much, but I have this stuff; I'm not totally helpless, I just didn't expect to be attacked." She shook the bag's contents on the ground and unsheathed a diamond sword from her back. She had a few building materials, some basic iron tools, leather armor, a bow and sheath of arrows, and some food.

Rythian laughed "You went to hell and decided you wouldn't need to bring your _diamond sword_?"

Brooke giggled a little "I guess I was kind of stupid. But I don't like carrying around too much weaponry. I like to give off a friendly vibe. But I always have this dagger." Upon closer look, it was an elegantly curved dagger, made of gold, tip dipped in a green poison. It glowed a little. "For my birthday, my sister had got me this. She enchanted it herself, so that it would never break. It reminds me of her." She said quietly.

Rythian unconsciously put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Well, maybe someday we could get to her, somehow. Unless she's dead?" he asked, mentally kicking himself.

Brooke smiled, assuring him he didn't offend her. "I'm not sure, actually. She's the one I've been searching for all this time. But enough about me!" she said exasperatedly "I don't want to let you on to everything before you tell me something about yourself."

Rythian laughed "That's a story for another time. We can start searching for her soon, but it'd be nice to have somewhere to go back to. I never liked the idea of being a nomad." Brooke agreed, and soon they found a large cliff, overlooking a peaceful lake.

"We may not have much for building, but I'm sure we could chop down some wood and-" Rythian cut off Brooke's plans and rolled his eyes.

"You seem to forget one crucial thing here; magic." He was already whipping out his philosopher's stone and making a condenser, along with a power flower, tablet, and a few other basic items. It was much easier to start than last time. Without looking up, he called to Brooke "Tell me, are you any good at building with taste?"

Brooke's eyes sparkled with delight "I guess you could say so." she said in a falsely humble voice.

Rythian walked up to her with a few items, saying "Now, I'm going to give you a few magical items, so promise you'll be careful, okay? Good. This is an alchemical bag, like my own, but I've dyed this one red to avoid confusion. It holds many items and I've filled it with what you need to build. Here's a flying ring...I'm the most nervous about giving you this. It's a very natural feeling to use it, but be careful not to ram into a tree, okay? This is a simple potion that increases efficiency in building. Got it?"

Brooke was slightly overwhelmed by her new riches but nodded excitedly. She tied the surprisingly light bag to her belt, slipped the flying ring on her index finger and chugged down the potion. Grinning at her new friend, she yelled "Don't worry, Rythian, I'm gonna make this _awesome_!" and began to build their new home with surprising speed and skill.


	4. Chapter 4: A Story

It's amazing what an overexcited little girl can get done in only a week.

Brooke had finished their castle, made of nether brick, tall and looming elegantly by the cliff. The first floor being a simple living area, the second a kitchen, a library; it seemed to go on and on and on. The bedrooms were simple but lovely, the top a dark magic room leading directly to the power flower at the top.

Rythian whistled. "This is a proper mage tower." He said, impressed "Where did you learn to build?"

Brooke grinned proudly, spinning a wrench around in her fingers. "I was something of a prodigy back home for architecture…so you really like it?" she said happily

Rythian nodded "Definitely. I was going to build something like this before but….never mind. What do you feel like doing today?"

"Hmm…" the girl checked her ruby red bag "We've been running low on food lately. I suppose we could make a farm later, but honestly fresh meat is quicker and tastes better. Want to go hunt?"

Rythian blinked. What an un-Zoeylike thing for her to say. But then again, he reminded himself; this was not a little Zoey, even if they looked alike. "Uh, sure. Let me go put some stuff away."

Five minutes later, they were standing outside the tower. Brooke wearing leather armor dyed green, bow and arrow in hand. Rythian hadn't bothered with camouflage and had his red katar. They flew to make less noise and headed into the expansive forest.

By sundown, they had bagged enough game to keep them well fed for a while. Brooke daintily carried a half dozen chickens by the feet while Rythian was stuck dragging two adult cows, only made possible by their flying rings.

Soon the moaning behind them started, and Rythian cursed. "I knew we shouldn't have stayed out so long." The creatures of the night seemed to be appearing everywhere around them, and they were already exhausted. "Brooke, you brought your sword with you this time, right?"

Brooke's face turned pink and she shook her head. Seeing Rythian's angry face she said "I'm sorry, okay? It's too heavy for me!" she said indignantly but picked up her bow. "I have some rope. Just tie the stuff around your waist, and I'm sure we can make it back to the house." She tossed him some rope, and with some difficulty tied the heavy game to their waists. They landed to conserve energy and began battling.

Rythian was effortlessly killing the mobs in one hit each, fighting his way towards the house. As he reached a break in the waves of skeletons and zombies, he looked back at Brooke.

She had dealt fairly well with them, but was already out of arrows. This meant that with only her shining dagger, they were getting dangerously close to her and landing some hits. However, they were all being taken down rather quickly. He began to make a path towards her. It was as effortless as usual until she gasped.

Rythian's veins seemed to pump with ice. An enderman was right behind him and Brooke was too far away to take him out from behind. He simply looked a Brooke calmly, looking around for water to dive into once stabbing the enderman, when he saw something green sneaking up behind Brooke.

"Zoey, watch out!" he yelled to her, and then his eyes widened. Not because of the perfect execution of stabbing the creeper in the head, but the fact that he accidentally let _her_ name slip from his mouth. Shaking his head, he used the last of his klienstar's energy to fly over, scoop up Zoey-or Brooke rather, and decapitate the enderman before crashing in front of the castle, all of the weight going onto his head as he blacked out.

Rythian awoke in a warm bed with sunlight streaming through stained glass windows. Through his still blurred vision, he saw the outline of a pale face and red hair bandaging his arm. He was about to call out "Zoey? When did you get here?" When his vision cleared and he realized it was Brooke, who looked down at him and smiled a little.

"Nice of you to drop by. How are you feeling?" she asked him kindly, her arms and legs also covered in bandages.

He checked himself mentally. His head still ached, though he didn't believe he had a concussion, his body was only a little sore, he could think clearly, and his mask was….where was his mask!?

Reading his facial features, Brooke gently pushed his shoulders back onto the bed and gave him his mask, hardly looking at what it was concealing.

His skin slowly faded to a black with purple tint where the mask usually was. When his ender side had taken over, his lips had vanished and his whole mouth had taken the form of the enderman's jaw, but as Zoey returned way back when, everything was slowly turning even better than normal, his lips back, mouth a regular human form, but his skin had yet to turn normal.

Rythian closed his eyes, not sure if he was angry, sad, or embarrassed. Without opening them he said simply "It's okay. You can go back to your village. I won't stop you."

Brooke rolled her eyes "I'm not leaving, after I built this masterpiece here. But, after calling me Zoey and now this…you have some explaining to do, Mr. Hero."

He looked at the girl in disbelief. She was a caring soul, just like the girl he mourned. He sat up, took a sip of water which slightly scalded his lips, and began speaking in a slow in steady voice.

"Fine, have it your way. Go ahead and sit down, this will take a while." Brooke sat down obediently, an inexplicable hope in her eyes.

Rythian sat up in his bead and gazed out the window. "Let me tell you a story. About a boy and a girl, in a land of magic and monsters…"


	5. Chapter 5: Everything will be Okay

**Hello my lovelies! Thanks for your support in this story, sorry this is pretty late, but you know, exams, homework, emotional problems...anyways, please review!**

"Then, the mad scientist's bomb went off, and well, I believe that was the end of the story for the Blackrock girl." Rythian whispered, finishing his story as tears streamed down his face. They didn't sting so much anymore,as they did when Zoey left the first time. "Zoey, my Zoey..." He cried

He expected Brooke to have a sympathetic expression on her face, maybe some tears. The mage did not expect her to be doubled over, sobbing. "I knew it." she said, muffled because her face was in a pillow. "I knew it I knew i it I knew it. I _knew _you were the Enderborne from the prodigy she talked about."

Rythian raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, what? Did you know Zoey? Because you look an awful lot like her. I think it's time I heard _your_ story."

Brooke nodded, sighing. She took a while straightening up, fixing her hair, and taking a sip of after before begging.

**(For this part, lets pretend that Zoey lived in a village in the old world. ;) )**

"You may have figured this out already, but Zoeya Proasheck is my sister. We grew up in a small village and I loved her more than anything. When we were little, we did everything together, and she wasn't embarrassed to be seen with me even though she was older. Everyone wanted her to join the army, she was intelligent and strong. Zoey ended up being in the Nether exploratory unit to please our parents, though I knew she didn't want to. She was gentle and hated any violence, even against simple-minded Netherfolk. All she wanted was to pursue agriculture. She was always there to protect me, and made me this dagger before she left so I would always be safe no matter what. But something went wrong on her first mission out. Her group was jumped by blazes; they surrounded Zoey and did something to her; no one knows what. She was okay physically, but she tried to convince people the blazes talked to her. Everyone thought that she was crazy. But I don't think so. Zoey took me in our room and told me the prophesy that was revealed to her;

"A far ways away, there lived a boy with ender blood pumping inside of him. She was destined to take the monster out of him, lest he go mad and let the Queen form a weapon that would destroy the world. It would be a tough voyage ending in a bang, but all would be well in the end. She even drew me a picture of what they said he'd look like."

Brooke took out an old wrinkled water-color resembling Rythian. Taking another sip of water, she continued

"They were going to send her away to an asylum in one week's time, from when she drew that. I remember the day she left ,warm, pleasant. The day before she was going to leave. We had just been sitting there, talking, enjoying our fading time together when they came. Twenty blazes, rushing out of the Nether portal. They attacked nothing, though, simply found Zoey and opened a blue portal for her. She hugged me tightly, and said 'I love you. But I have to go be awesome somewhere else now. Look for me, and we'll meet again sometime.'And then, she left. The last sound I heard of her was her yelling and then a splash, like she had jumped into water. The portal closed, and I never saw her again. But I never stopped looking. The only place I didn't check was the Nether. As I wandered along, searching for her, I saw a man standing over the edge of the lava. Looked as though he were about to do something drastic. As he hurled himself over, I saw his face, and screamed as I recognized him from the drawing. My yell attracted his attention, along with one too many blazes for me to handle. And well...here we are." Brooke finished weakly, out of breath. She began to cry again.

Rythian put a hand on her shoulder, tears running down his face. "She did it, you know." he said in a strangled voice "I changed. I became human, for her. I loved her."

Brooke wiped her eyes."After all this searching...I never gave up hope that she was still alive. And now..."

The two sat in a mournful silence for a while, only broken when Brooke looked into Rythian's eyes with a piercing gaze. "Rythian." she said "I have to visit her grave. I want to say goodbye to my sister."

She had expected a fight from him, but the mage nodded slowly. "I never really got to say goodbye either. It's been a long day. Get some sleep, I have an idea how to get there, tomorrow."

She nodded to, and began to walk out. She ran back and hugged him, and he hugged her back tightly for a moment before they both prepared for bed, feeling as though somehow, it would all work out eventually.

**(Sorry for any typos. The only way I could write this was on a crappy mobile. Hope you enjoyed anyways! )**


	6. Chapter 6: The Journey Back Home

**Okay, I think this story will be wrapping up very soon. So thanks if you stuck around with it :) If you like it, I got an interesting idea for a sequel, so tell me if you'd enjoy that!**

Rythian looked down disgustedly at his newly crafted Void Ring. Though it was essential to get back to Blackrock, the idea of teleporting repulsed him now. He wanted nothing to do with the End anymore.

They were packed lightly for the journey, not planning to stay for longer than a day; just some sleeping bags, a few weapons, and food. "Brooke, are you ready?" He called to his small friend.

"Almost." she called back, less energetic than usual. Her clothes had taken on a darker shade as she double checked her backpack before stooping down and picking up a single red rose. "Okay. Ready."

Brooke grabbed Rythian's hand as he focused, the ring glowing. There was a brief suffocating sensation, and then they were at the pond where Zoey had first fallen from the sky. The mage doubled over, panting. His eyes, including the whites, were glowing purple.

"Rythian?" Brooke said, alarmed. Her hand twitched toward her dagger.

"No, I'm fine." He coughed, looking as though he was about to throw up. His eyes were returning to normal though. "I'm in control. It's just much harder than I remember."

They sat there in silence for a while. The pond was just far enough away that Blackrock, or whatever remains there must be, were hidden from sight.

"Okay." Rythian said quietly. "You can see it from the top of this hill."

They walked in silence, and were astonished at what they found.

There was no crater at all. It was level as before the boom, Blackrock standing tall. Surely this must be a dream? No, he senses were too alive for that. In the distance he could see a green dinosaur patrolling around with two iron golems. Then , in the distance, the mage saw something he couldn't believe.

"Z-Zoey?"


	7. Chapter 7: An Old Friend Returns

**You guys don't think I'd leave you hangin' like that would you? :P**

"Who's there?" A redheaded figure called out from the distance.

"Zoey, is it you?" Rythian called in disbelief.

"Zoey?" Brooke yelled, eyes wide.

"What in the..." Zoey murmured before flying to them. When she landed, her eyes locked solely on Rythian. "It can't be you." Yet as she landed, a jewel on her necklace glowed purple. "It is?" She looked at him with an expression of wonder, like a child watching a magic show. Time stood still. Then she ran to him, sobbing, ripping off his mask and kissing his black lips.

Rythian's eyes were wide, his face red. Zoey pulled away quickly, mortified. "Rythian, I'm so sorry, its just, I thought you were dead and-"

"Hey sis!" Brooke caught her off, looking amused. "I think Rythian wants to tell you something." She took her rose and stuffed it in Rythian's hand.

Rythian held the rose awkwardly in front of him and stammered "Yeah, I, um, before this all happened, I had been meaning to say, um..." Brooke stomped on his foot, causing him to yell and blurt out "I love you."

It was Zoey's turn to blush, before saying quietly "I love you too, Rythian."

They embraced, and the mage couldn't remember a time he was happier. "I missed you.

Zoey smiled up at him "No need to miss me now! And I see you've met my awesome sister. I knew you'd find me eventually."

Brooke rolled her eyes and grinned. "'Course I found you. Took long enough. Now can you let go of your boyfriend long enough to hug your little sister?"

Zoey laughed, realizing she and Rythian were still hugging, and that Rythian hadn't stopped smiling. She ran over and hugged her sister, still laughing joyfully.

"Now come on in guys! Rythian, it's just how you left it...when it was in tact. We've got some catching up to do!"

**Another short chapter! But the next should be pretty long. Please review!**


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